Jane Evans Bonacci The Heritage Cook

WELCOME to The Heritage Cook ... we're sharing traditions, one recipe at a time! I learned to cook at my grandmother’s side, watching her create nourishing meals for the family. I love to share the lessons she taught me. I am a recipe editor, developer and tester, a food writer, passionate cook, and baker. Subscribe to the blog and never miss a recipe or the fun of Chocolate Mondays! Creating, exploring, sharing, nurturing ... that is what I love about cooking!

Some comments made by readers …

... Woo hoo! Mondays just got a whole lot better now that you’re featuring chocolate in some shape or form each week. It’s my favorite food group, after all...

... We prepared the “Fathers Day Brunch” on Sunday. It was a big hit! I was amazed at the light and very tasty pancakes. It looks like your recipes are going to keep me busy!...

... The [Chocolate Crinkle] cookies look beautiful. First bite brings a sensational experience to the pallet. Slightly crunchy exterior at first, then the moist interior with a burst of chocolate flavor through out my mouth. The flavors lingers long enough that I feel I must have another bite to experience it all again...

... This chicken is delicious. So tender, even the breast meat, with a hint of onion and lemon. Definitely a keeper...

... Just had my first bite and WOW! I think this is the best homemade brownie i have ever tasted. Great chocolate flavor with the right amount of sweetness. And the fudgy consistency is perfect! ...

... LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the glossary. I’ve “heard” these terms but never have I seen them in print. Keep ‘em coming! ...

... I made this pasta sauce this past weekend...what can I say, it was delicious! I added fresh zuchinni and eggplant for a vegetarian style meal like you suggested. Topping the pasta dish with fresh basil from my "Swiss" herb garden made the sauce perfect! ...

Favorite Publications

Me with my nephews, Corey & Chris

Who is The Heritage Cook?

I am Jane Evans Bonacci, a native Californian, avid cook and baker, and passionate foodie. After a long career in high-tech I have started The Heritage Cook to share my kitchen experiences, recipes, tips and tricks. I am so fortunate to live in the San Francisco Bay Area where I have access to some of the best ingredients in the country. I am inspired every time I go to the farmer’s market.

I have been involved with cooking ever since I got my first Easy Bake Oven. I loved how I could put something in the pan and a few minutes later, having “cooked” under a light bulb, I had a cake. It was magic to me then and I still feel the same way every time I pull something out of the oven. When my grandmother “Mimi” would visit, I would stand by her side, enraptured by her skills. She could casually make the simplest ingredients taste better than anything I had ever eaten. I still dream of her chicken and dumplings. Mimi made cooking fun. She showed me how to measure seasonings by pouring them into my hand, told me which ingredients I had to measure carefully for baking, and taught me that cooking was a wonderful way to show your love for family and friends. I hope that I have made Mimi proud.

Forty years in the kitchen, countless cooking classes with some of the country’s best chefs, watching cooking programs on TV, and my huge library of cookbooks have given me a wealth of practical knowledge. While working at local cooking schools, I have been fortunate to meet and assist many talented chefs. I never stop learning. Failures and experiments have taught me many lessons, the most important is to never give up. Figure out what when wrong and try again. You may want to adopt my kitchen philosophy … Try anything and if it doesn’t turn out, we can always order pizza!

My Goal

My goal is to share with you what I’ve learned from my years of experiences in the kitchen, my passion for food, and my love of cooking and baking. We can learn together on new recipes we’ll try and I’ll share tips I’ve learned along the way to make it easier. I love to experiment with new ingredients, techniques, and equipment. I hope you will have fun sharing these experiments with me and will contribute your stories and experiences with all of us.

If there are any suggestions you have, please let me know. This is as much your blog as mine. Are there topics you would like to see? Have you always wanted to bake a pie but were afraid to? Does bread scare you to death? We can make these together and become more confident cooks and bakers.

One of my greatest skills is finding amazing recipes. I’ll share with you what I look for in a recipe and why I think it will work. A recipe is only a starting point, and I’ll show you how I might change it – and how it evolves once I start working with it. Pretty soon you’ll be developing your own recipes to share with family and friends!

The Recipes

You will see a little of everything on here because that’s the way I cook – from a myriad of sources. Sometimes I’ll have six cookbooks open on the counter and I’ll take parts from each recipe or method. Some recipes I post will be my own, some will be those I have modified from another source, and others will be from people I admire. In all cases I will state the source except where I don’t know its origin. Sometimes recipes get passed along from friend to friend and the original source gets lost. If you recognize a recipe, please let me know who created it so I can credit them appropriately.

Blog Rolls and Links

I won’t put anything on my roll that I don’t read myself regularly. There are hundreds of great blogs and my list will change from time to time. If there are other blogs that you love and would like to recommend, let me know. Maybe I’ll make a “Reader’s Recommendation” list!

Endorsements / Recommendations

I will only endorse products and books that I use and love, or support the causes I am passionate about; local, organic, seasonable, and sustainable food, supporting local vendors, ecology and green-technologies, re-purposing, and recycling. Disclaimer: These are my personal recommendations and do not reflect the opinions of any other organization or individual.

Thank You!

Thank you for coming along with me on this journey. I hope your house will be filled with the aromas of baking, braising, and roasting, your stove will have pots simmering and skillets ready to sauté, and your grill will be full of sizzling foods. I’m certain you will fall in love with cooking and baking the same way I did when I stood alongside my mother and grandmother!